Tidal Turbine

 It seems to have been a long time coming but (repost from Edie) .....................

 ‘World’s most powerful’ tidal turbine starts generating electricity

Official figures from the UK Government this week confirmed that renewable electricity accounted for a record 43.1% of the UK’s generation mix during 2021. As expected, offshore wind accounted for the majority of generation.

Another positive announcement in the UK’s renewables space came from Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), where Orbital Marine Power’s O2 tidal turbine this week begun generated power whilst connected to the grid for the first time. The 2MW offshore unit is anchored in the Fall of Warness and has been under development for some 15 years. It is expected to have a working life of 15 years.

Orbital Marine Power has confirmed that the turbine, which received financial support from the Scottish Government and Abundance Investment, will be providing power to a new onshore electrolyser for green hydrogen generation. The UK is notably striving to host 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen generation capacity by 2030.

"Our vision is that this project is the trigger to the harnessing of tidal stream resources around the world to play a role in tackling climate change whilst creating a new, low-carbon industrial sector,” Orbital Marine Power’s chief executive Andrew Scott said.